


Don't Feed The Animals

by cyanideinsomnia



Series: Post-Banishment Lucio [3]
Category: The Arcana (Visual Novel)
Genre: Angst and Feels, Feral Behavior, Fluff and Angst, Gen, Gender-Neutral Apprentice (The Arcana), Lucio needs a hug, Male Pronouns for Asra (The Arcana), Mental Instability, Mild Blood, Mild Language, Nadia (The Arcana) Route - Upright Ending, Older Apprentice, Older Characters, Post-Banishment Lucio (The Arcana), Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder - PTSD, Self-Harm, Touch-Starved, asra is not nice, to be fair it IS lucio
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-04-07
Updated: 2020-04-07
Packaged: 2021-03-01 21:21:55
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,583
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23523778
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/cyanideinsomnia/pseuds/cyanideinsomnia
Summary: While taking a leisurely stroll some time after saving all of reality, the magician - formerly the apprentice - finds an unusual creature in the magical realms.
Series: Post-Banishment Lucio [3]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1680019
Comments: 9
Kudos: 56





	Don't Feed The Animals

**Author's Note:**

> takes place after nadia's upright route, so this is nadia's goat and royal thembo, similar mental state to idle hands and we are not friends
> 
> trying to make sure yall know time has passed on the outside may have come out more awkward than expected rip
> 
> loosely based on this headcanon post: https://apprenticeofcups.tumblr.com/post/186805492772/dunno-if-this-has-been-done-before-but-hc-for which is also the basis for the other broken goats you've seen here + will see

It was a beautiful day in the magical realms - birds singing a soothingly unnatural song, the warmth of sunlight dancing on their skin, the thrum of magic as warm and welcoming as the sun. The magician hadn’t been here in a real body since they were an apprentice, saving all of reality. 

Asra had warned them against this, but they assured him the greatest danger was long gone, and they could fend off any other miscreants that might get a similar idea. It had come so easily to them, almost naturally, like simply walking through a doorway in their own home. They supposed that was a benefit of being the Fool.

The one downside to a physical body was it had needs, however. It was all too easy to forget the rumblings of hunger in their gut, if they weren’t careful. Time for lunch.

They reluctantly came to a stop next to a small forest grove, settling under one of the larger trees. There were dozens of bushes about half their height surrounding it, like tiny little students around one big teacher. 

The magician set their bag down next to them on the ground, leaning back against the tree, fishing out one of their books and a loaf of pumpkin bread, fresh from Selasi’s stall this morning, wrapped in a little linen napkin and still warm from the oven. 

As they lifted the bread to take a bite, a soft whine emitted from the bushes. 

It sounded somewhere between an animal and a person, which wasn’t unusual in the realms. It also sounded very hungry. They weren’t sure creatures living here could eat mortal food, but that clearly hadn’t occurred to their reluctant guest.

“Hey there, you want some?” They turned towards the bushes, squinting between the slightly trembling leaves to see what had made the sound. All they could make out was the hint of pale hair or fur, either silver or gold depending on how the light caught it.

Scout? 

… no, if it was Scout, he would just come out and take it. Maybe it was another creature like him? Did Scout have littermates??

“C’mon out, I’m not gonna bite.”

The bushes remained unmoved.

“If you come out, you can have some bread. It’s still warm~” 

They waved the small loaf in front of the bushes, and there was another, louder whine, but the mystery creature stubbornly remained hidden, another rustling of leaves as it presumably inched its way closer to them. 

It likely wouldn’t make a move while it was being observed, and their curiosity was killing them.

“Okay, I guess I’ll just leave this warm, delicious, fresh-baked pumpkin bread _right here_ while I’m paying attention to something else!” They said loudly, feeling a bit ridiculous. This was such an obvious trap. Even Scout would think twice. “Sure would be a shame if something were to happen to it!”

They set the bread on its napkin on the ground next to the bushes, diligently turning their head away from it but only just, picking up their book and loudly rustling the pages as they pretended to read.

For a long moment, there was nothing. 

They wondered if whatever it was had trundled off, annoyed by their goading.

Then there was a flash of movement in the corner of their vision, and without thinking they twisted around and grabbed hold of it. 

"Gotcha!"

The magician didn't get a very good look at their prize before it suddenly jerked back, nearly pulling them into the bushes. They hunkered down and tugged it right back, finding much more resistance and weight than anticipated. A lot more weight, more _substantial_ than most things in the realms.

What was in their grasp was a weathered golden arm, attached to a very startled looking man with streaks of silver in shoulder length shaggy gold hair, sharp black wings drawn under wide silver eyes, wearing the tattered remains of an opulent white dress suit wrapped up in scavenged furs. 

"... Count Lucio?" 

He flinched from his name, but didn't attempt to pull away just yet, eyes nervously flickering between his captor and the pumpkin bread, as if waiting for another opening to grab it. The fact that his other hand was very clearly available for the task hadn't quite occurred to him yet, possibly because he didn't want to risk both arms being captured. 

They could feel him trembling in their grasp, and they couldn't tell if it was weakness or fear, or both. He looked like he hadn't eaten in days, maybe longer. His eyes were wild and paranoid, like a trapped animal, quick to flight if pushed.

Very slowly they began to let go of his arm, just as slowly picking up the bread with the other hand, his eyes following it like a dog watching a hare, otherwise remaining dead still in his awkward position poking halfway out of the bushes. He likely would have bolted if it wasn't for the bread, and they weren't sure he wasn't going to bolt anyway.

"You want this?" There was the barest hint of a nod, though he cowered away from their hand when they drew it closer to him. "Here."

Lucio immediately lunged for it - then stopped cold, inches short of making contact, drawing back and shaking his head with a frustrated whine. 

"What do you mean, no? You're hungry, aren't you? Take it."

"I can't." 

His voice was soft and pained, a far cry from the boisterous tone they'd heard the last time they saw him. He was still staring at the bread, though he was clearly trying not to, turning his head away but gazing sidelong at it.

He didn't seem to want to explain why he couldn't. Maybe he didn't know either.

The magician frowned and set the bread down on its napkin on the ground again, gently nudging it towards him. "I'm gonna leave this here for you, okay? If it'll make you feel better, pretend you're stealing it from me."

They turned away to start packing up, a bit slower than normal to keep an eye on the disgraced ex-Count. 

After a long moment they heard a soft click, another, slower hint of movement in the corner of their eye. They turned back towards the bush, and found the bread hadn't moved, but it was now joined by a weathered golden circlet, a gap in his armor at the elbow indicating where it came from. He stared at them expectantly, nudging his offering towards them with his other hand when they didn't instantly snatch it up. 

They shook their head and pushed the circlet and the bread back towards him. 

He glanced down at it and back up to them, expression somewhere between hurt and alarm. "Is- is it not enough??"

Even in this condition, the small piece of gold would be worth the baker's entire stall, at the least - but he clearly wasn't thinking past the simple fact that it was one object for another.

Trembling fingers were already working on peeling another piece of armor from his prosthetic, a note of desperation in his eyes. The magician realized he would strip the whole thing down if they let him.

"No, no, it's fine," Against their better judgment, they picked up the beaten gold armor piece with a strained smile, making a show of packing it away in their bag.

They'd figure out what the hell to do with it later.

The moment his "payment" disappeared from view, Lucio once again lunged for the pumpkin bread like a starving animal, this time snatching it up and nearly cramming the whole thing in his mouth at once, eyes closed in simple bliss. They briefly wondered if they should have brought more bread.

When it was gone he finally crawled out of the bushes, momentarily ignoring them in favor of investigating their bag, roughly pawing through books and arcane trinkets in search of more food, and the magician tried to remember if they'd packed any potentially lethal spell ingredients that could be mistaken for edible, unsure if he could tell the difference. He eventually let the bag drop with a disappointed grunt, looking reproachfully at its owner.

"Sorry, I only brought enough for me.” They shrugged. “I didn't think anyone else would be out here." 

"No one came with you?" He leaned up and craned his neck to look over their shoulder, eyes once again wild and paranoid, visibly relaxing when they shook their head.

"Asra said I’m well past needing a chaperone in the magical realms."

Though he did make sure they told him where they were, just in case, something that Lucio probably wouldn't want to know.

"You slipped your leash too, huh?" He absently rubbed at his neck with his flesh hand, and for a moment they could see the echoes of dark chains wrapped around his throat. Thankfully no new corruption had taken the Devil's place that they could sense, just a ghost of a bad memory.

"You're welcome for that, by the way." 

The sour expression on his face indicated there wasn't actually a thank you to go with it.

After a moment the former Count settled next to them under the tree, leaving a small space between them to keep from touching but remaining within arm's reach. He seemed much less afraid now, just lonely. He was definitely but a shadow of the man sent fleeing from the Hierophant's estate.

They sat together in awkward silence for a while, the magician wondering where to go from here. They had intended to go back to Vesuvia, but he clearly needed the companionship, and he was obviously no longer a threat. Nadia had thoroughly defanged him.

His right hand once again began to pick at the armor on the left, loosening and pulling off the wrist piece, and then after a moment of deliberation the back of the hand as well. He immediately grabbed his companion's hand and pressed both weathered gold pieces into it with another expectant, desperate look, making it apparent he wasn't going to let them try to get out of accepting them this time.

"Tell me about Vesuvia." He demanded, wincing at his own tone. "... please."

The magician reluctantly let their fingers curl around the armor, and Lucio just as reluctantly released them, as if transfixed by the momentary human contact. “What do you want to know?”

“Anything. Everything. Whatever comes to mind, I’m not picky. I’m sure it’s in shambles without me.” A ghost of a smile passed across his lips at the last part, gone as soon as it appeared. It hurt to watch.

This was probably a mistake. It was only going to hurt him. But they had a feeling that if they didn’t tell him _something_ , he’d just try harder, tearing more of himself apart chasing that glimpse of home. They weren’t sure they wanted to know what he’d try to pay them with when he ran out of armor.

“Well, um… Nadia’s redecorated your old wing, and that’s where I’ve been living for the past few years. ” They began, uncertainly, a flush of red creeping up their face unbidden. “She calls it the Consort’s Wing, so.. I guess that makes me the royal consort? I’m definitely not the Count. But we’re doing things as a team, so I guess labels don’t matter.”

He made a face like he’d bitten down on a lemon, but said nothing, continuing to watch them expectantly.

“We sent most of the menagerie to some wildlife sanctuary in Prakra, and Portia’s trying to retrain the dogs, which mostly boils down to socializing them with other people and animals so they’re not so… bitey. Mercedes almost took my hand off the other day.”

A low chuckle that sounded more like the rattling of bones. “She only bites people I don’t like.”

“She’s tried to bite everyone at the Palace. We had to muzzle her.”

“Tsk, _cowards_.” 

The smile was a little less painful this time, leaning his head back against the tree and making a vague ‘go on’ gesture with his flesh hand.

“Oh yeah, we just had this year’s Masquerade--” He flinched, and they hesitated, wondering if they’d hit a sore spot. “It-- er, wasn’t all that remarkable besides being a Masquerade? Just base level excellent. You didn’t miss anything.”

They personally thought it was one of Nadia’s best.

“.... how many Masquerades have I missed?” He murmured under his breath, sinking down in his furs but hesitantly making the motion again, unable to look at them. 

Time flowed differently here - even if they knew, they wouldn’t be able to tell him. 

The magician awkwardly shifted against the tree, trying to think of a different topic. “The shopping district is up and running, a pretty lively place, though the aqueducts still need a little work. It keeps overflowing when it rains, and it’s not always water.”

“Covering my city in shit. I see how it is.” Lucio mused with a wry little grin.

They clamped down on the urge to remind him that that district had _already_ been covered in shit due to his negligence years ago, instead pretending to look offended by the suggestion, if only for the little croak of laughter it garnered from the former Count.

“Yes, Lucio, we’re flooding the streets with shit to spite you. A big ol’ shit tornado with your name on it. A veritable shitnado.”

“Only the finest of shitnados in my honor, I hope. I won’t stand for any less than the best.” He snorted, shaking his head and waving them on once more.

They diligently continued on, though they began to struggle to find something to talk about, feeling Nadia might also be a sore spot, instead delving into the minutiae of things like how their day went and the conversation they had with the baker when they bought the pumpkin bread, boring little details that he paid rapt attention to as though they were speaking some kind of important gospel truth. Eventually he stopped trying to interject, just sitting there and listening, hanging on to every word.

Eventually they ran out of even the boring stuff, another awkward silence taking up where they left off. His gaze dropped, distant and disappointed, but he didn’t say anything, fiddling with his armor. Somewhere during their diatribe, he’d shifted closer to them, leaning against their shoulder, an easy sort of familiarity like they were friends. He didn’t seem to notice, or maybe he didn’t care, and they didn’t really feel a need to push him away.

The sky was still bright above them, but they felt exhausted, as though they’d spent a century under this tree. “It’s getting late. I should probably head back.”

The magician winced at the casualness of their own statement, considering his situation, but for the moment he continued to gaze distantly at his own golden arm. 

They slowly rose to their feet, though they were pretty sure he was beyond spooking at fast movement, hefting their bag over their shoulder and awkwardly shifting on their heels, wondering how best to break off from .. whatever the hell this was. They knew he wouldn’t be the one to leave first, given a taste of human companionship.

“Er-- goodbye, Lucio.”

Through the corner of their eye they saw him startle from his aimless gazing, a pang of guilt running through them as they started walking away. Maybe it would be best if they just kept walking until he couldn’t see them before calling the gate, assuming he wouldn’t try to follow. 

It almost felt like abandoning a dog.

A rapid fire set of metallic clicking followed along behind them, something weighty thumping against the ground, closer than the clicks as though he’d tossed it. 

Against their better judgment, they turned back towards him.

Lucio was on his hands and knees on the ground, what remained of his armor in a golden pile ahead of him, head down as if he was too ashamed to look up at them from this position, overgrown mop of hair obscuring his face like a greasy veil. He was visibly shaking, and it probably wasn’t from holding up his own meager weight.

“T-take me home.” His voice was strained, as if it physically hurt him to ask for this. “Please.”

When they continued to stand there and stupidly gawk at him, he eased back on his knees to start pulling away the furs and adding them to the pile, followed by the remains of his original cloak, his sash that only had two medals left, and then his tattered shirt, his fingers finally digging into the edge of where gold met flesh at his shoulder with clear intent to pull off the arm itself. It looked very much attached, judging by the bead of blood that ran beneath his fingernails and the pained whimper that escaped his throat.

"Wh- stop that!" They recovered enough to yelp, gratified to see he immediately stopped pulling at his prosthetic.

Instead he shoved the pile towards them and stared up at them with wide, panicked eyes, the glimmer of tears in them. “It’s not enough, is it? I can’t-- this is all I have. I just want to go home. _Please._ ”

“You-- you know I can’t do that.” The magician managed, shaking their head. God, they were right, telling him anything was a mistake. “Even if I did-- you’re just going to die in prison. You’re not even going to see Vesuvia. Is that what you want?”

“You have to take me back. You have to. You _stranded_ me here, you have to take me back.”

His voice ticked up into a shrill wail, tears rolling freely down gaunt cheeks as he staggered to his feet. Either he hadn’t heard them or he decided this line of logic was more important than the truth. He shoved at the pile again, nearly losing his balance, before shaking his head and advancing towards them, intentions unclear to him as much as his intended target.

They weren't fast enough to get out of the way before the former Count lunged, sinking shaking fingertips into their shoulders hard enough to hurt, suddenly very glad he'd removed the claws. His expression was twisted into a pained snarl, as if he was struggling between anger and supplication.

"You did this to me!" One hand slipped free in order to violently gesture at himself. "I had power, I had youth, I had my _life_ back, and you took that away from me!"

"All I did was set you free. It's not my fault this is how you're taking it."

The magician tried to keep their tone firm but not aggressive, unsure of what he might do if they were perceived as a threat. They slowly reached up to start pulling his hands away, wincing as they twisted around to roughly grab their own hands instead.

"I'm not FREE!" Lucio nearly howled, then froze, eyes widening with the sort of horror one might feel after dropping a big secret, his grip faltering. "I'm-- I'm not-- what will it take? What more do you _want_ from me??"

A blinding flare of magic seared across the small gap between them before they could answer, enveloping Lucio like a fireball, sizzling against bare skin and metal. He yelped and scrambled back, staring at them with terrified, betrayed eyes as if they'd done it - and for one frightening moment, they weren't sure they hadn't, even if it had been some time since their last accidental magic.

“Go away, Lucio,” Asra grunted, stepping around his former apprentice, fingertips still sparking, a gust of wind from the magical gate behind him slightly lifting his long white hair and traveling cloak, making him look that much larger. 

They didn't know if this was a better option.

The former Count whimpered and backed further away, staring at the elder magician’s hands as if they were currently burning him, too focused on the threat to look out for the pile of armor and clothing, tripping backwards over it and scrambling back up into an awkward crouch the moment he’d hit the ground. 

He looked like he was about to say something but struggled to find the words, wild eyes flickering towards the younger magician for help. 

Asra took another step forward, and Lucio immediately bolted, darting behind the tree and out of sight. Once it was clear he wasn’t coming back, Asra finally relaxed and turned back towards them, expression inscrutable. His aura was still tense, an undercurrent of rage they hadn’t seen in years. It was a bit frightening.

“Don’t let your guard down around him. He’s good at crocodile tears.” 

They were pretty sure those were genuine tears.

“C’mon, Nadi asked me to collect you. You’re late for dinner.” He smiled, resting a hand on their shoulder and guiding them towards his gate. His grip was gentle but firm, brooking no argument.

The magician hesitated regardless, realizing that they still had the armor pieces in their bag and couldn’t dump them without raising suspicion. Maybe they’d get lucky and find him again on the next trip, hopefully in a condition to take the armor back.

They made the mistake of looking back, eyes meeting with Lucio’s as he peeked around the tree.

His haunted look of betrayal and _yearning_ followed them into the gate.

***

dedicated to everyone in the comments that want to hug him and/or tell him its okay:

**Author's Note:**

> lucio was absolutely aware that was a trap at the beginning but hongy

**Works inspired by this one:**

  * [Dangerous](https://archiveofourown.org/works/26172400) by [cyanideinsomnia](https://archiveofourown.org/users/cyanideinsomnia/pseuds/cyanideinsomnia)
  * [Taming Him Down](https://archiveofourown.org/works/26200111) by [cyanideinsomnia](https://archiveofourown.org/users/cyanideinsomnia/pseuds/cyanideinsomnia)




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